Dayton: What it means that the Kings are staying in Sacramento

The author (right) with Kings play-by-play man Grant Napear in Philadelphia. He thought it was the last time he would be able to see his team in person.

I found out that the Sacramento Kings, my favorite NBA team is, this time, for sure, going to exist next season.

I found out that the squad I’ve been rooting for since I was 12 years old is staying right where it belongs, and that I can look forward to the NBA draft, and next season, and getting NBA League Pass again.

I couldn’t be more ecstatic.

What does it feel like to realize that your favorite team is going to be around for a while, that you won’t have to be an NBA nomad, with no real rooting interest anywhere?

Put it this way:

The Kings were horrible this season, but it feels like they just won a playoff series. I’m pouring champagne all over myself as we speak. In fact, I just plastic-wrapped my keyboard.

The Vlade Divac jersey I’ve been wearing for the past few weeks in semi-protest (almost like a Che Guevara shirt on a college campus) is now just another awesome old-school jersey. The look of forlorn empathy I’ve seen on people’s faces when I tell them I’m a Kings fan will now only show up when I tell them I still live with my parents.

To sum it all up: This is the exact opposite of the 2002 Western Conference finals.

Maybe it’s karma (although that’s a tough sell to Seattle fans), or maybe it’s just Kevin Johnson. But this time around, the Kings actually came out on top with everything on the line. In May 2002, I collapsed to the floor in devastation when the Kings “lost” to the Lakers.

Today, I couldn’t have been happier if Amanda Pflugrad showed up at my house.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson worked tirelessly to keep the Kings.

This was a fight Sacramento deserved to win. The Kings have some of the most passionate fans in the NBA, and thanks to the Herculean efforts of Johnson, the mayor and a former All-Star point guard, they have a group of investors willing to spend an ungodly amount of money on the team, and a plan for a new arena that was passed, 7-2, by the City Council.

The fact that this whole thing became a bidding war was unfortunate and wrong, because Sacramento never wavered on whether or not it wanted to keep the Kings. Fans still showed up in droves. Politicians fought tooth and nail for the right to use public money on a new arena.

Kings fans sold out the home finale. They cheered on their team that night as if it were the NBA Finals. A guy named Carmichael Dave even put together a bus tour and traveled the country to spread the word about the passion his city had for the Kings.

This was never about Seattle. The people up there deserve a team, and I sincerely hope that they get one soon.

No, this was about Sacramento, and in truth, the only reason the Kings were even in the position to be relocated was because of the vindictive Maloof family, which backed out on an arena deal they had agreed to last year. Then they sold the franchise to Seattle businessman Chris Hansen in stealth. The Maloofs were hellbent on screwing over Sacramento, hoping to pull the moving fans away in the middle of the night like the Baltimore Colts.

Thankfully, it didn’t work.

It feels pretty great to know that the collective efforts of a fan base and a city can be enough to stop an inept ownership group.

It feels even better that I’m going to have a team to root for next season, and in the seasons to come.

Long live the Sacramento Kings.

Long live my team.

Kels Dayton is a freelance writer whose work has also appeared in SLAM Magazine. You can check out more of his work at RoundballDaily.com. Follow him on Twitter @RoundballDaily.

Thank you for every other magnificent post. The place else may anyone get that kind of information in such a perfect method of writing? I’ve a presentation subsequent week, and I’m at the search for such info.

After checking out a handful of the articles on your site, I really appreciate your way of blogging. I added it to my bookmark webpage list and will be checking back in the near future. Take a look at my website as well and let me know your opinion.

Hey there! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this website? I’m getting sick and tired of WordPress because I’ve had problems with hackers and I’m looking at options for another platform. I would be awesome if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.

My developer is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the costs. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on a number of websites for about a year and am concerned about switching to another platform. I have heard good things about blogengine.net.

Is there a way I can import all my wordpress posts into it? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

An interesting discussion is definitely worth comment. I believe that you ought to write more about this issue, it might not be a taboo matter but usually folks don’t speak about such issues. To the next! Cheers!!

I’ve been exploring for a bit for any high-quality articles or weblog posts on this kind of space . Exploring in Yahoo I ultimately stumbled upon this site. Reading this info So i’m glad to express that I have an incredibly excellent uncanny feeling I came upon exactly what I needed. I such a lot for sure will make sure to do not disregard this website and provides it a glance on a constant basis.

Please let me know if you’re looking for a article writer for your site. You have some really good posts and I believe I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d love to write some articles for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine. Please shoot me an e-mail if interested. Thank you!

Undeniably consider that that you stated. Your favourite reason appeared to be on the net the easiest thing to keep in mind of. I say to you, I certainly get annoyed whilst people consider worries that they just don’t recognize about. You controlled to hit the nail upon the highest as smartly as defined out the whole thing with no need side-effects , folks can take a signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thanks

Just wish to say your article is as surprising. The clearness on your submit is just excellent and that i could think you are knowledgeable on this subject. Fine with your permission let me to snatch your feed to keep up to date with forthcoming post. Thank you a million and please carry on the rewarding work.

Thank you for some other great article. Where else could anybody get that type of info in such a perfect manner of writing? I have a presentation subsequent week, and I’m on the look for such information.

I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m having a tough time choosing between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design and style seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something completely unique.

Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I’ve truly enjoyed surfing around your blog posts. After all I will be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again very soon!

An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto a friend who haad been conducting a little research on this. And he actually ordered me breakfast because I discovred it for him… lol. So let me reword this…. Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending some time to talk about this matter hdre on our blog.

Hi! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but after reading through some of the post I realized it’s new to me. Anyways, I’m definitely glad I found it and I’ll be book-marking and checking back frequently!

The standard features are there that come to you without any extra costs by using the internet. Panasonic telephones are the old but the golden key phone systems for business to this concept. Even with that customization VoIP Business Systems often offer free features such as auto attendant systems, Remote LAN accessibility, Personal computer Telephony Integration, Consumer Relationship Management and substantial velocity net accessibility and so forth. A set of phone systems for business buttons and lights.

My coder is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using Movable-type on various websites for about a year and am anxious about switching to another platform. I have heard fantastic things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can transfer all my wordpress posts into it? Any help would be really appreciated!